Unit 5: Discussion

Unit 5: Discussion
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14 unread replies.
14
14 replies.

Welcome to this unit’s discussion! In this discussion, you will analyze and discuss your readings and prepare for success in this unit’s major writing assignment.

LEARNING GOALS: By participating in this unit’s discussion, you will:

Practice making arguments
Practice using framing ideas as a rhetorical strategy for academic writing
Analyze and discuss Nicholas Carr’s “Is Google Making Us Stupid?”

TASK: To participate in this unit’s discussion, please follow instructions for both of the prompts below. To facilitate orderly discussion, please create a separate reply for each prompt.

Prompt 1: First, do the following exercise, which is adapted from Ruszkiewicz’s A Reader’s Guide to College Writing. Write a 1-2 paragraph report that summarizes Nicholas Carr’s “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” by using all of the following techniques:

Quote from Carr’s article at least twice, being certain to include appropriate signal phrases and verbs of attribution.
Introduce ideas from Carr’s article at least twice, acknowledging the borrowing, but not quoting from the material directly. Be sure that readers realize that you are paraphrasing Carr.

Your report should be 1-2 paragraphs long, and should give your classmates a full view of Carr’s article.

Prompt 2: Now that you have read and summarized Carr’s position, respond in 1-2 paragraphs. Use any or all of the following questions as guides to response:

What did you think of Carr’s article, in general?
Which of Carr’s points strike you as correct, and why?
Which of Carr’s claims do you disagree with, and why?
What has been your own experience with the Internet and online reading? Do Carr’s examples resonate with you?
Does Carr make any claims that seem unsupported or untested? If so, how would you test them?
What aspects of the subject need further exploration?
What does Carr’s article remind you of? Have you encountered any similar texts? Have you had similar conversations with friends or family?

Your response should be 1-2 paragraphs long, and should give your classmates and instructor a glimpse into your initial reactions to Carr’s article.

In follow-up discussion, focus on the responses to Prompt 2. Use discussion to better understand your own and your classmates’ perspectives on the issues that Carr raises. Work together to figure out how your own claims could be tested. Figure out what further research is needed in order to really understand the truth of Carr’s arguments. Identify counterarguments or alternate perspectives that add to the conversation. This discussion will be where you refine and develop your perspective on Carr’s article, which will then inform your work on this unit’s major writing assignment.